Each month here at Maxatec we like to post a quick round up of interesting news items relating to EPOS, mobile computing and the technology sectors.
During June we have seen UK retail outlets becoming more serious about cutting their carbon emissions, mobility as a growing trend in EPOS systems for retailers, and Blockbuster embracing mobile vouchers.
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Each month Maxatec posts a quick round up of interesting news items relating to EPOS, mobile computing and technology sectors.
In May we have discovered that; garden centres are making more efficient use of their epos systems for customer retention and research, independent pharmacies in the UK are using new retail systems. No more queuing at the train station hurray! - We can now use barcode rail tickets on our mobile phones, and don’t forget that here at Maxatec we have just re-launched our MT-200 receipt printer!
Read the summaries below: More
In April we have discovered that; e-commerce has peaked, Mobile EPOS and barcode scanning is booming in Ireland, we can now use our phones to scan barcodes, and that charging your PDA just became an eco friendly activity!
“For decades just a functional part of the packaging of every item that we purchase, barcodes are undergoing a revolution in Japan.
Design Barcode Inc. is working with dozens of companies here to brighten up the mundane black-and-white stripes that contain information on the product. The new designs still include that data, but are increasingly incorporating company logos or an image associated with the product.”
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“The government has pumped £80m into mobile devices for police forces, and officers can expect an increasing proportion of their workload to be dependent on them. There is a raft of problems for police forces to iron out, but the clear benefits and relatively low cost mean it is one initiative that is not likely to disappear.” Read the full story
“Ever since barcodes were first introduced, companies of all sizes have utilized them to make their businesses run faster and more efficiently. Not surprisingly, a 2006 European Labelling Study, reported that 96% of European companies relied on barcodes to increase efficiency, 32% for increasing the accuracy of ordering and invoicing, and 26% for enabling cost reduction efforts.” Read the full story.
” A UK-based research group predicts there will be 430,000 retail self-checkout terminals (self-checkouts) in use globally by 2014, four times the current number, and North America will account for more than half of the units.
The forecast is based on a study by Retail Banking Research, which said there were 92,600 self-service checkouts in use globally by the end of 2008, about 25 percent more than were in service at the end of 2007. The study focused only on self-checkouts used in supermarkets and other retail establishments.” Read the full story.
“Sarbanes-Oxley requires companies to accurately show that they really own the assets they say they do, and that equipment holding financial data is controlled and secured. Similarly, businesses covered under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) also have to keep IT assets under tight control.”
“The consortium, made up of leading North American-based financial institutions, tech vendors, independent research organizations and government agencies, has been working to develop standards for RFID-based IT asset tracking systems, including pre-tagging of equipment at the manufacturer.” Read the full story.
Can biometric systems be fooled?
“When biometric security devices began appearing nearly a decade ago, they were often touted as the final word in security technology. After all, stealing your password is one thing — stealing a thumb, a retina or a voice print is a bit more of a chore.
Hackers, however, developed techniques to fool biometrics scanners, much like they’ve found ways around spam filters and firewalls. Biometric device vendors, in turn, learned how to improve early scanners and algorithms to develop more ironclad security products.” Read the full story.
New barcode heralds major changes for retail store systems
“A fundamental change is taking place in the world of bar codes, for the first time since bar coding was introduced to retail packaging over 35 years ago. The new type of bar code, GS1 DataBar, has been approved for marking trade items in the retail supply chain” Read the full story
Andrea says: “The new type of bar code opens up all sorts of opportunities for the retailer relating to traceability, product authentication and in particular bar coding on small products, but as we understand it changing to GS1 DataBar is left to the brand owner’s discretion. EAN/UPC will continue to be used indefinitely where it works today. The GS1 Databar was launched in 2006 and next year (2010) standards will be available for bilateral agreement between trading partners for all trade items. The specific focus will be on Fresh Products scanned at POS. As a distributor of hardware, it is essential our suppliers are ready for the gradual change that will take place and deliver us products able to handle new types of bar codes.”
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